


Well, If You Can't Walk Then Run

by bubblegumclouds



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 18-Year-Old Harry, 18-Year-Old Louis Tomlinson, Awkward Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hugs, Inspirational Speeches, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Nervous Harry, No Smut, Speech Disorders, Stuttering, Therapy, speech therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 17:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13486398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblegumclouds/pseuds/bubblegumclouds
Summary: Harry Styles is a teenager with a stammer he wants to conquer and when the speech therapy TV show he's on forces him out on the streets to talk, he comes away with more than he expected.(Harry has a speech problem and maybe taking the number of the first stranger he talks to on camera isn't the best idea. Then again, cute, Bieber-haired boys are Harry's type.)





	Well, If You Can't Walk Then Run

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> I am nervous to put this up, I did as much research as I could for this and worked very hard on trying to get it right. Please let me know if I didn't.
> 
> The TV show I based this on can be watched here and I HIGHLY recommend doing so- https://www.itv.com/hub/school-for-stammerers/2a5285a0001
> 
> Title is from Isombard by Declan McKenna
> 
> Twitter- angeltxmlinson

Harry’s heart was rabbiting in his chest, tears pooling in his eyes with the inescapable panic. His speech therapy course had pushed him out on the street with his therapist, Luce, to talk to at least a hundred people.

Halfway through the day and Harry hadn’t even brought the courage up to approach one person despite the fact he felt like he’d already completed the task by how shattered his brain was. Every time he went to stop someone, he turned his back, unable to catch their eyes and see the shameful stare and that made the tears pour more.

“I-I-I can’t d-do it,” Harry said, taking the welcome hug from Luce and softly sniffling into her shoulder. She had been more than patient with him even though he felt utterly incompetent.  
“You can do it, Harry, you know you can. You can do this,” She assured him as she handed him a tissue. Harry ran over that sentence, printing it in his mind like a neon sign of self-confidence.

“I-I can,” Harry muttered, feeling determined that he had to do this. He was on TV and he was not going to halt all his process on this step. He splashed some water on his face and made sure he looked presentable.

His therapist pointed out a boy sitting alone, he looked about Harry’s age with a striped shirt and a very Bieber-esque hairstyle which he flicked repetitively. Harry took a big breath as he’d been taught and hesitantly approached the boy. He focussed on his direct eye contact and kept in his mind that he wasn’t alone, Luce was there and the cameras were slightly out of his view so he wasn’t thinking about that aspect of it. The boy looked pretty and that added a slight bit of pressure as the man sat and waited for Harry’s mouth to open.

“Hi, m-my n-n-,” Harry took a breath and started again, his speech declining with his nervousness, “Hi, my name is Ha-a, Ha-a,” he could feel all the time he spent getting his name fluent slipping away as he forced himself to stare into the strangers blue eyes. He turned to Luce who was still willing him on and reminding him to practice the breathing.

“My n-name is Har-r-r, Har-r-r,” he looked at her again, tears welling and spilling down his face as he shook his head. The stranger's eyes felt like they were burning into him and he was paralysed with fear. He turned back to apologise but instead the stranger said something.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, would you like to sit down?” The stranger asked and Harry nodded shyly, the break welcome as his knees were buckling. The boy shuffled up and Harry sat next to him, Luce smiling and reminding him of all he’d learnt. The stranger still kept eye contact with him and waited patiently.

“Hi, my name is H-Harry St-Styles and I-I-I, and I am eighte-e-e, eighteen. I-I am on a s-sta-ammer course. I-I h-h-h, I h-h, I-I,” Harry began to lose it as he felt all the rush from his initial good run ebbing away with each dragging second.  
“Harry, you can do it,” Luce whispered and Harry nodded.  
“I h-have been set a t-task to speak to a h-hundred pe-people a-and you’re the f-f-first,” He finished with a relieved giggle and the stranger’s lips curled up into a dimpled smile.

“Hi Harry, that was great. I’m Louis, Louis Tomlinson,” Louis introduced and Harry shook his hand, feeling the weight lift off his shoulders. Although his hands were probably a little too sweaty to be comfortable, Louis didn’t mention it and kept beaming at Harry.  
“Thank y-you, I-I was v-very nervous,” Harry grinned and Louis nodded.

“You did well, kept going when things started to get a little harder and I think it was amazing. If you need another person to practice with, my friend Liam will be out in a minute, y’know, to get your hundred,” Louis offered and despite the uneasy look he sent Luce who gave him a thumbs up, he nodded.  
“Oh, here he is, Liam!” Louis shouted and Harry felt the same panic rising as now there were two people he was keeping in suspense.

“What’s up mate,” Liam smiled at Louis as his eyes flickered between him and Harry while he bit down on a pasty he’d just gotten. The steam distorted the view of his face but thankfully not his eyes. Louis looked over at Harry as a silent ‘do you want to go or should I?’ and Harry nodded confidently, taking a big inhale.

“Hi, my name is Harry Styles and I-I, and I am eighteen. I am on a st-stammer course. I have b-been set a task to sp-speak, to speak to a hundred people a-and you’re the second one,” Harry spoke with a lot more confidence in his voice and his breathing but the way Louis was looking at him was the thing that made him proud. This boy he’d never met was so overjoyed with the immediate improvement, he pulled him into a hug.

“That was amazing mate! Sorry, sorry I didn’t mean to hug you I just got a bit carried away,” Louis apologised as he quickly pulled away and Harry couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face as he felt the blush rise.  
“Hi, I’m Liam and that was brilliant Harry,” Liam complimented and Harry shook his hand too.  
“Thanks,” he replied, feeling better than he ever could have dreamed.

“Harry, shall we move on?” Luce gently reminded Harry that they actually had 98 more people to talk to before the day was up and Harry nodded.  
“Yeah, thanks f-for your t-time Louis a-a-, Louis and Liam,” Harry concluded however just before he went, Louis called after him.

“Harry,” he shouted back and Harry turned towards him, the cameras following behind. Louis looked awkwardly at them before averting his gaze down.  
“Hey, I really shouldn’t be doing this, especially not with the cameras around but, I, um, and tell me to shove off if I’ve got this wrong but, I wondered if. I mean, I guess I wondered if maybe you’d, ah, like my number?” Louis rushed and Harry was shocked, his breath catching in his throat as he looked up.  
“I w-w-w, I w-w, s-sorry. I-I,” Harry sighed as all the happiness began to drain faster than he could keep hold of. The cutest boy had just asked him out and here he was, a stuttering mess.

“S-Sorry, I-I-I,” Harry sighed, not able to look at Louis anymore, too ashamed he’d tell him to forget the idea because Harry was too much hassle. The response he got was far from what he’d expected. Louis reached across and hovered his hand over Harry’s clasped fingers, silently asking permission. Harry obliged more than willingly.

“Harry, it’s okay, take as much time as you need,” Louis reassured, the linking of their hands grounding Harry and halting him from floating away. Harry decided to just go with as simple as he could manage just to get the word out.  
“Y-Y-Yes,” He answered and Louis beamed, squeezing Harry’s hand as he pulled away momentarily.

“That’s great, um, hold on. Here’s my phone if you want to maybe write it into yours,” Louis fumbled with his phone as he handed it over. Harry wrote the number before handing it back.  
“Thanks, I guess I’ll... text you later, I mean maybe? Let me know how the hundred people thing goes? If you want to,” Louis sounded uncertain and it made a tingly feeling buzz in the pit of Harry’s stomach. Harry couldn’t help the way he fidgeted nervously (but excitedly too).

“I will, thanks Louis,” Harry fluently pronounced as he awkwardly waved to Louis and the cameras followed them off.  
“Look at you! First boy and you’ve got yourself a date!” Luce gently nudged him as she laughed with pride for the younger boy and Harry couldn’t believe how well that had gone.

The rest of the day continued in the same manner as not only did he manage to complete the challenge but he also did 14 with no stuttering at all. It was on the way back, in his haze of confidence, that he texted Louis. His fingers barely tapped the screen in his rush to get the message sent before he decided against it.

‘To: Louis- Hi, it’s Harry from earlier :)'

Barely one minute later the reply came. Harry was impressed at the speed, he always admired a quick texter.

‘From: Louis- Hey Harry, how did the challenge go? x’

Harry was more than relieved he asked because Harry was worried just outright texting it would seem too egotistical.

‘To: Louis- I did the challenge and got 14 with no stuttering!!!’

Harry couldn’t help but squeak excitedly at just the thought of how far he’d come despite the fact he was drained.

‘From: Louis- HARRY!!! Thats amazing! Super proud! :D :D x’

As Harry stepped back into his hotel room, he couldn’t have thought of a better day. Everything had changed so quickly and he’d gone from crying at the thought of approaching people to ordering his own food and getting asked out.

He and Louis spent a long time texting and even though he had promised no late nights, Harry couldn’t help but message non stop until his head dropped to the pillow.

“So, Harry, I heard you got on extremely well yesterday. Luce said you were fantastic!” Mark, the leader of the course, seemed delighted with his progress.  
“Yeah, I-I did 121,” Harry stated as he struggled to hold back the pink tainting his cheeks at the thought of Louis.

“Harry, that’s wonderful! I heard you got a certain someone’s number too?” Mark joked with a hand on Harry’s shoulder and Harry shook his head.  
“Yeah, L-Louis,” Harry whispered, feeling embarrassed that everyone seemed to know.  
“Well we’re all proud of you Harry, you’re looking to be perfectly on track for the public speaking and the friends and family speeches,” Mark reminded Harry that beyond all these tasks was an actual end goal. He’d have to stand on the stage in front of a shopping centre packed with strangers and tell his story. It sent a shiver through him as they began the day's exercises.

'To: Louis- I have to do a public speech later at Grendale, I’m nervous.'

Harry didn’t know why he was sneakily texting Louis but he felt like the knowledge of what was to come was eating away at his insides. Not being able to talk about it seemed to make the panicking itch worse. The moment the vibration buzzed in his hand, the tension aching his muscles eased.

‘From: Louis- u will b ok I promise, its not as bad as u think x’

Harry took some strange comfort in that. Even though, coming from anybody else, he would have typically brushed it off, from Louis it felt like the best advice he’d ever received.

'To: Louis- Thanks, just never done this before so I’m not feeling too good about it haha’

Harry tried to lighten the message at the end, realising that they’d barely known each other a day and yet Harry was spilling these feelings to him. His next message nearly sent tears to Harry’s eyes.

‘From: Louis- you can do this Harry, I saw the way u did it yesterday. Me and Li are behind you all the way!!! ::1 Picture Attached::’

The image was of Louis and Liam on the sofa with their thumbs up and the most animated grin plastered on their face. It was Louis’ beaming grin that made Harry’s heart stop, his dimples caught the shadows so deeply and his flawless skin framed the crinkles by his eyes. And _oh_ his eyes.

'To: Louis- Thanks both of you, you’re adorable!'

Harry hoped that Louis would know the compliment was meant as a loose flirting move. Before he could worry about that, he was being called to leave for the performance.

‘To: Louis- Gotta go, thanks for the support! Bye :)'

Harry couldn’t stop shaking and fidgeting with his curls, the more he looked at the younger students, the more he wished he was young enough to have his parents with him. The fact he would be standing all alone with nobody to focus on made the experience a chore instead of rewarding like it was supposed to be. He just wanted some support instead of a brief smile from James across the row like he usually got.

He knew it was his turn once Mark announced Reilly was finished. Despite the fact he had nobody specific to impress, he still felt every brick of the world was tumbling down on him like the autumn rain. His feet felt weighted as he heaved them up near the stage and dragged them along towards Mark, every cell screaming to leave.

“Now welcome to the stage, Harry Styles!” Mark announced and Harry stepped up and towards the mic. The extent of the audience hadn’t reached Harry as he’d been too focussed on the ground level but as the tiers rose, so did the number of people. Harry was certain he was going to give up, he even put his foot out to leave until... he saw it.

Louis’ voice was heard before Harry spotted him but when he did, he noticed he was dragging Liam through the crowd by the stage, wrestling his way to the front row as he scanned the crowd for Harry. Once he looked up he noticed Harry was staring at him from the stage and he waved manically with big thumbs up. Harry stepped back, not wanting to let Louis down.

“Harry Styles speaking. Hello e-everybody. My name is Harry and r-r-right, right now I am t-terrified,” he admitted which earned a few ‘aww’s’ and laughs, “this experience has been the craziest thing th-that I’ve ever done but I wanted to do it to show other people like me th-that it’s always possible to overcome your stammer.”  
Harry felt himself getting emotional as he made eye contact with as many people as he could so he decided to wrap it up.

“You can always do anything you want to. Thank you f-for listening,” Harry waved as the tears began to fall. Mark hugged him tightly and whispered a ‘well done’ before he shakily climbed off. He barely had his feet on the ground before Louis pulled him in.

“That was incredible Harry, that was so, so brilliant!” Louis congratulated as Harry clung as tightly to him as possible. The hug was one of the biggest reliefs possible, having that rock to lean on and come away to made Harry’s heart swell with joy. He saw Liam lean over him to reach Louis’ ear before he was off back through the crowd.

Despite the fact he should really have pulled away from where his head was buried in Louis’ comfy, grey hoodie and watched his fellow student after him, he stayed tightly wrapped up. Louis knew Harry needed time to let the adrenaline fade so he rocked them slowly while gently wrapping a few of Harry’s curls around his finger.

Feeling Louis' hands around his back, holding him in place and the strong, perfumed scent of Louis’ cologne mixed with just _him_ gave Harry the strength he needed to get his breathing back at a reasonable pace. When Harry finally pulled away, Louis had a soft smile on his face, one that felt so understanding and calm.

“Okay, I present James Maslow!” Mark announced and Harry’s head turned quickly, Louis loosened his hug and Harry shuffled around, cheering with the rest of his students. James was a lot older than them however he had helped them all so much throughout the process that they all adored him.

As James started, Harry felt a pair of arms snaking around his waist and a head on his shoulder. He relaxed into the touch and placed his hands over Louis’ clasped ones just as Louis spoke.  
“Is this okay?” He asked hesitantly and Harry nodded, not wanting to talk while James was on through respect. Louis watched and stayed silent, appreciating how intently Harry was listening yet he couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away to the stage.

“Thank you, all of you,” James finished and the crowd of students erupted into applause and cheers. Louis even cheered too, by association he felt like he owed it to anyone that had helped Harry. Harry gave him a happy look and Louis’ heart skipped a second.

“Thank you for listening to our students today, they have done incredibly well. Give it up for all of them!” Mark led the crowd for one last rupture of applause before everything died down a little and people simmered away. Both of the boys were being a little battered at first until the crowd had dispersed enough to move comfortably.

“Louis, I-I-I didn’t think you would come!” Harry excitedly giggled and Louis shrugged it off.  
“It wasn’t too far but I had to come and see you, didn’t I! I was your first person so arguably I got you to where you are,” Louis sarcastically commented and Harry laughed, shaking his head fondly. The fact Louis’ hands hadn’t moved off his waist and his thumbs were still skimming the bare skin of his hips made Harry slightly dizzy with excitement, he finally felt like he was in some sort of relationship which he’d never had before.

“Do you have anything else to do now? I was hoping I could get to know you a bit more outside of the texts?” Louis asked, a clear glimmer in his eye that they might get to actually hang out properly. Harry was on the brink of saying no and just disappearing with Louis but he knew he had to get back for the friends and family speech.

“I’m sor-r-r, I’m sorry, I’ve got another speech for friends and family later,” Harry told him and to Louis’ credit, his face fell for merely half a second before he was smiling again.  
“Oh awesome, well I guess I’ll see you again another time maybe?” Louis said, however, it appeared more like a question. The fact that Louis was still so uncertain when it came to things between them kept reminding Harry just how long he’d known Louis and that he needed to hold back the feelings that were developing.

“Yeah, of course! Give my love to Liam too,” Harry said as he left with the other students, heart slightly heavy in his hands. As he walked off, he ran into Liam who was just coming out of the Poundland opposite Harry’s ride back.

“Hey, where you going?” Liam stopped him, crumbs flying out as he spoke and Harry squinted in confusion.  
“To the course, we have a friends and fa-family speech,” Harry explained and Liam groaned as he rolled his eyes and threw his head back.  
“You’re telling me I drove that bastard two hours in London traffic for 10 minutes. I’m gonna kill him,” Liam angrily stuffed his face with whatever over processed crap he had in his bag and Harry froze. Two hours? Louis had said it wasn’t far. Liam must have got the timing wrong, or maybe he was over exaggerating?

“Where did you come from?” Harry asked quietly, hoping it didn’t sound suspicious and Liam tilted his head.  
“Louis didn’t tell you? We came from mine. I live in Northampton,” Liam said matter-of-factly and funnily enough, Louis had left out the information that he’d driven from _Northampton_ to London just to see Harry talk for barely 2 minutes.

“I-I-I... he told me th-that it wasn’t far,” Harry muttered and Liam’s face quickly morphed into shock. Harry knew it must have really got him because he didn’t even carry on with his food.  
“Oh, I thought he’d told you. He was probably trying to play it cool, oh damn it, sorry,” Liam groaned and muttered about how Louis was going to kill him in 20 different ways. Harry just couldn’t fathom why Louis drove all that way, and now the guilt of being unable to stay felt like a weight knowing he’d come so far.

“Harry! Come on!” Mark shouted and he managed to say goodbye to Liam relatively normally and get on without any issues. Mark tried to joke with him but Harry couldn’t really focus on anything he was saying.  
“What’s up, is it that guy you saw today. If he’s done something to upset you, you need to let us know,” Mark offered quietly as he sat next to Harry. The loud chatter around filled the air enough that nobody would have been able to listen in.

“No, it’s just, his friend told m-me they drove two hours to see me today b-but he said he hadn’t come from very far away,” Harry muttered, still trying to piece things together and Mark’s eyebrows shot up almost comically.  
“Wow, two hours after only knowing you for a day, sounds like you’ve got yourself either a keeper or a stalker there, Harry,” Mark whistled and Harry tried to laugh but couldn't, not sure why he was so quiet.

“I only got to see him for 20 minutes though, I feel bad,” Harry confessed while staring at his phone, waiting for any text from Louis. The thought of leaving the comfort of his arms and the only attempt at a relationship he could have (or could of, Louis probably wouldn’t want him anymore) was depressing.

“Why don’t you invite him to your family and friends showing. If he drove all this way he can drive 10 minutes out of town and you’ll get longer with him.” Mark suggested and Harry actually hadn’t even thought of that.  
“I will try, yeah,” Harry nodded and Mark looked at him again, that knowing glare in his eyes.

“Something else is wrong,” Mark stated and Harry sighed.  
“I just, I thought maybe he thinks I didn’t want to spend t-time with him, maybe he won’t want me because he thinks I’m selfish,” Harry sighed, feeling stupid for suggesting it but it was the truth.

“Listen, he dragged his friend two hours in the car just to see you. He barely looked at the stage, Harry. His eyes were always on you. To me, it looked like no amount of time would have been enough,” Mark told him and Harry’s head turned to Mark in shock.  
“Really?” He said in disbelief, he’d never had anyone interested in him before and it sure was an odd feeling.  
“Definitely, and I don’t know for sure but I bet he’s been texting you 24/7 too, I’m not as blind to teenagers tricks as you think I am,” Mark raised his eyebrow signalling he knew how late Harry had been up last night. Harry’s first instinct was to deny it but Mark didn’t seem overly angry, just amused.

“Sorry, I just, it’s been a day, I don’t understand why I’m getting like this,” Harry chuckled at the reality of it all but Mark smiled.  
“Young love Harry, see it all the time,” Mark commented and looked like he was smiling at a memory and Harry had never seen that side to him before. The jolting of the breaks on the vehicle pulled him out of anything he was reminiscing.

“Anyway, hurry up and invite him, we’re here now and he’s only got half an hour,” Mark said and Harry whipped his phone out and typed as he walked, bumping into a couple of the others as he went.

‘To: Louis- I was wondering if you’d like to come to the family and friends speech today? Here’s the address if you’d like to. Tell Liam it’s only 10 minutes this time haha’

Louis was unsure whether to add the last bit however he figured Liam would have told him Harry knew by now. His response was immediate, clearly, Louis must have been waiting.

‘From: Louis- Getting 2 the car now, I didnt think u would ever talk 2 me again x’

Harry’s heart dropped at the words and how Louis could sound sad even through a message.

‘To: Louis- I don’t understand why you drove all that way, but it was very sweet. I’ll see you in a bit *sunshine emoji*’

‘From: Louis- Just gettin in now, good luck H x’

Harry was first up, something he’d asked Mark for so that he could sit between Louis and his mum for the rest of the time. Mark had grinned, patting him on the back with an ‘of course’. The family started pouring into the seats and the moment Anne came in Harry leapt into her arms, not realising just how much he had missed his mum. He still wasn’t allowed to talk just yet but the hug was enough. She sat them both down as they grinned and hugged many more times. Harry kept glancing towards the door and sure enough, Louis awkwardly bumbled in, looking incredibly out of place.

Harry got up, much to his mum's confusion and pulled Louis in for a hug. Louis’ arms wrapped around him and despite the fact he wasn’t really supposed to, he whispered,  
“I’m sorry, you got this H.” Harry shook his head and took Louis’ hand, guiding them both back to their seat. His mum looked between them in confusion but Mark interrupted the moment.

“Hello, family and friends, now is the time to hear the progress of the past few days. Everyone has worked incredibly hard we are so pleased with the progress that has been made. So, without further ado, I present Harry Styles!” Mark said and Harry walked up, trying desperately not to trip over his own bumbling feet. He was just as nervous as he had been earlier but he had gotten used to the techniques and practised so much that he knew this would be okay.

“Harry Styles speaking. When I started this show, I wasn’t sure what I-I, what I was getting myself in for. I thought I’d had this s-speech problem for so long, it was never going away. Now here I am, able to say nearly every word and,” Harry rubbed his eyes, tears bubbling to the surface, “I never thought I could. So thank you to Mark and Luce, who have been so supportive and given me advice on not j-just my speech, but life too,” Mark grinned and put his thumbs up, not wanting to get too emotional just yet and Luce was already sobbing as she waved.

“Thank you to my mum, she always b-believed in me and I-I would never have the strength to do this without her and thank you t-to you guys, you’ve all done s-so well. My last thank you is to Louis who drove with his friend Liam t-two hours to see me today, he’s wonderful,” Harry beamed and Louis blew him a kiss as he grinned.

“It’s been a wild few days and you’re a-all incredible. All the love guys, Harry Styles.” Harry finished with barely any stutters and tears dripping down his face as he got off the stage. He hi-fived a few of the students at the front and gave James a hug before returning to his mum and Louis. Anne was in bits, sobbing at how incredible Harry was. When he finally managed to pull away, Louis pulled him in.  
“That was brilliant H, I’m so proud of you,” Louis whispered before the next student went up.

At the end, all the families were left to chat freely now that things were over and even though he wanted badly to tell his mum all about the experience, he remembered how far Louis had come so he tried to focus on him. Anne went off to the loo to sort her makeup out and dry her eyes.

“We can talk now right?” Louis asked as he looked around and everyone began to hug family members and tell them everything.  
“Yes Lou,” Harry giggled and Louis pulled him in for a even tighter hug.  
“I’m sorry about earlier, I just didn’t want you to think I was some kinda stalker or summat. I thought you were lovely and Liam had been teasing me every time my phone went off. I mean I knew how scared you were and I didn’t want you to be alone,” Louis admitted and Harry’s heart melted as they pulled away.

“It kind of shocked me b-but it just made me realise that I like you, like a lot,” Harry laughed and decided to put his hands around Louis’ shoulders, wanting to be closer to him.  
“I like you too, Mr High Achiever,” Louis smirked while wrapping his hands around Harry’s waist. They both quickly realised that this position was the one usually meant for kissing. Their eyes locked and both boys giggled awkwardly, Harry’s head falling into Louis’ chest and Louis resting his chin on top of Harry’s curls.

“Boys, look at you two!” Luce came over with a wide smirk painted on her face and her wild blue hair tied up, tear tracks still on her face.  
“Luce! Thank you for everything!” Harry leapt towards her in excitement and Louis smiled at how energetic Harry was today.  
“No problem Haz, you did so well up there! Barely a stutter in sight!” She beamed and Harry could see the emotion hiding in both of them.

“It’s all thanks to you!” Harry replied and Luce shook her head.  
“You did all the work Harry, this was completely you! Although I do take credit for one thing, who directed you towards this boyfriend of yours, hey?” Luce elbowed Harry and both boy’s faces dropped in panic  
“No Luce, he’s not, I mean we’re not, I don’t think anyway, what I mean is we’re not, um dating,” Harry rushed and Luce looked between them.

“Alright Harry calm down, you’ll give yourself that stutter back! Well, you two are adorable anyway!” Luce said making both of the blush as Harry fumbled to hold Louis’ hand to take the awkwardness away.

“Aren’t they just?” Mark added, coming up behind Luce and grinning at the pair.  
“Luce doesn’t get all the credit, Mark helped too!” Harry joked and Mark laughed at Luce’s offended face.  
“So, do I get to meet this strapping young lad then?” Mark asked Harry, motioning towards Louis.

“You’ve already met Harry,” Louis chimed in smoothly to Harry’s shock and Mark’s amusement.  
“Oh look at that, smoother than Peanut Butter, like I said before, he’s a keeper Styles!” Mark grinned before shaking Louis’ hand and congratulating him on the line. Anne came up to the pair, smile on her face.

“He’s a keeper?” Anne commented as Mark and Luce slipped away to congratulate the others.  
“It was just a joke Mark made e-earlier about Louis. Mum, this is Louis Tomlinson,” Harry introduced and Louis shook her hand nervously, not expecting to be doing the whole ‘meet the parents’ thing.  
“You’ve been away for less than a week and got yourself a boyfriend everyone seems to know about already!” Anne commented and Harry looked down smiling, never able to make eye contact with Louis in case he looked frightened.

“He’s not my boyfriend, mum!” Harry muttered and luckily Louis seemed to find it all amusing as he watched Harry flush red.  
“Well anyway, we need to go if you want to make it back to see Gemma,” Anne said and Harry froze, he’d forgotten he was meant to be back soon. He was hoping to have made up for ditching Louis earlier.  
“I was actually h-hoping to stay for a bit?” Harry commented but Louis replied before Anne could.

“It’s alright, you should go see your family,” Louis said and Harry turned to him, taking both his hands.  
“Lou, I don’t want to ditch you again,” Harry said, feeling so awful at how little time Louis had spent with him.  
“Hey, don’t pout at me like that! We’ll see each other again soon, plus Liam’s probably running out of the protein bars he bought earlier anyway,” Louis said and Harry giggled.

“Okay, can we just, g-go somewhere for a minute?” Harry whispered awkwardly and Louis nodded.  
“Mum, I’m going to talk to Louis, I’ll be at the car in a minute,” Harry said and Anne looked suspiciously at them before nodding. They went into the corridor, only able to find a disabled toilet, and figured it was the best space they’d get without cameramen walking past every few minutes.

“Thank you for today,” Harry uttered into Louis’ shoulder, the space quiet and the moment tense.  
“No problem, you were great up there,” Louis complimented as they pulled away, both awkwardly standing there.

“Can I kiss you?”  
“I was w-wondering if I could kiss you?”

Both of them laughed at the timing before leaning in. The moment Louis’ lips touched Harry’s felt like a weight had been lifted. Louis cupped Harry’s jaw as he pressed kisses on his lower lip. Both their lips were soft, touching gently and only for a few moments at a time. Harry was the first to slightly part his mouth, wondering if it was too much but Louis followed, their kisses deepening while their bodies pressed together, Louis backing Harry to the wall carefully.

“L-Lou,” Harry whispered between kisses as their spit-slicked lips left a trail between them.  
“Sorry, too much?” Louis worriedly muttered, his breath hitting Harry’s lips.  
“Not enough b-but I-I have to go soon,” Harry reminded regretfully and Louis swallowed, the move audible to Harry.

“If you want to do something right now we can but don’t think we have to, okay? I mean if you wanna go on a date or something we can sort that first, it’s all been so fast,” Louis rushed and Harry smiled, tracing Louis’ jawline with his finger.  
“Kiss me more,” Harry whispered and Louis obliged, their tongues instantly meeting as Louis pinned him to the wall in a rough make out session.

“I’m not even going to ask,” Anne said as Harry got in the car, dishevelled and breathless, his lips prominent as they were swollen and a violent red.  
“He’s wonderful mum,” Harry replied, his smile not moving no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.

‘From: Louis- Cant wait 2 c u again, still so proud of u!!! Ur speeches r almost as good as ur kissing ;) x’

'To: Louis- Can’t wait too and thank you Lou! :) Your lines are almost as smooth as your lips ;)’

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, please leave comments and kudos and maybe subscribe?
> 
> Here's the link to the TV show again, honestly it's amazing- https://www.itv.com/hub/school-for-stammerers/2a5285a0001
> 
> Twitter- angeltxmlinson


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